CHILLICOTHE - The 2017 story leading off the Gazette's list of the year's top local stories may find itself appearing on the 2018 list as well.

That's because the Chillicothe City Schools' journey to two new grade-banded elementary schools that began with conceptual drawings and groundbreaking in 2016 and the beginning of physical construction this year will finally become "lived in" during the latter half of 2018.

The project, which will result in a new pre-K through second grade facility at Cherry and Mill streets and a new grades three through six structure at Arch and Vine streets, was made possible through an arrangement with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. Through the agreement, the state is picking up about 55 percent of the cost, with voters in the school district having approved a bond issue to help with the rest.

This has been a busy year for the project, with residents at an open house in April getting the first opportunity to see what 2018 will bring. A virtual tour was provided on a big screen in the high school auditorium via a video now available on the construction page of the district's website, while those who had the time afterward waited to don virtual reality headgear allowing them to walk the halls that district children will experience next fall.

As the summer progressed, residents saw even more tangible evidence of what is to come as foundations were excavated, steel skeletons were erected and walls began to take shape. Monthly updates presented to the Chillicothe Board of Education have painted a picture of work proceeding on schedule and on budget.

During this week's meeting, another such reassurance was offered as Mike Mendenhall, district director of facilities and construction, provided an update on behalf of contractor Summit Resources. Mendenhall said that, weather permitting, the lower elementary building should be completely under roof by the end of this month, while the projection for the same result at the grades 3 through 6 building is targeted for the second week in January. Some of the exterior brick work has begun to appear, and Mendenhall said March should mark a milestone in the project when it is expected that all work above ceiling should be complete — signaling a move into the back stretch of the project and giving officials a better idea of potential dates that the buildings could possibly start being occupied.

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Frank Patterson, right, helps steady a piece of metal that Matt Bailey welds to the supporting top structure of the soon to be lunchroom of the new pre-k to second grade elementary building in Chillicothe, Ohio. (Photo: Robert McGraw/Gazette)

While the exterior work is the most visible manifestation of progress, a significant amount of work is being done inside the district office and the current elementary buildings to prepare faculty and staff for the eventual transition into the new buildings. Superintendent Jon Saxton said staff members are "chomping at the bit" for the latest information about transition plans and future staffing and that district administration has been in regular contact with a transition team made up of members of the Chillicothe Education Association in an effort to provide that information as it becomes available.

"We'll be having some discussions in early January with updates on not only where we are with construction, but where we would be with transitioning," Saxton said. "We want to start getting some calendar ideas in front of the staff and in front of (the school board) for how this transition may work and obviously the timing. Winter weather and the progress on the project is important to how all that is going to roll out."

Saxton said staff members have been providing input on such things as moving details, where their classrooms may be located and what grade they may be teaching.

Residents looking ahead to 2018 can expect more discussion between the school district and the city administration regarding traffic patterns around the new buildings, likely opportunities to get inside the new buildings once they are completed and, of course, the chance to send their children to school in the fall with the knowledge that they will be the first occupants of the new structures.